TGMD 8

Chapter 8

Don’t Get Married

At a secluded villa in the suburbs, where even the streetlights barely reached, an extravagant party was underway—one that ordinary people could hardly even imagine.

Anyone who wanted to could freely enter the spacious swimming pool, while a famous DJ kept the atmosphere lively. The constantly flashing lights radiated their presence in every direction, and alcohol of every kind overflowed across the tables and floor.

Today was the birthday of the second son of Danjin, the company that dominated the furniture industry in the country.

Yu-ju absolutely hated noisy parties like this, but under her father’s pressure, she had no choice but to attend. After a day spent frantically catching up on work without even a moment to rest, she could not help but sigh.

In truth, although today’s event was ostensibly a birthday party, it also served a very obvious social purpose.

It was her first official appearance as Ha-jin’s companion.

Yu-ju got out of the car with a displeased expression and reluctantly linked arms with Ha-jin before entering the villa, which had been transformed into the perfect party venue.

There were all kinds of people there, from familiar faces she had already seen several times to famous news anchors.

Ha-jin had been fidgeting restlessly, almost like a dog that desperately needed to go somewhere, and soon disappeared off to who-knows-where.

Yu-ju paid him no attention and first exchanged a polite nod with her older brother and sister-in-law, who had arrived earlier.

She glanced at her wristwatch.

Eight o’clock.

Two hours from now.

She would endure exactly two hours, then slip out of here without anyone noticing.

Yu-ju made up her mind.

“Wow, Yu-ju. I heard you’re getting married. You look even prettier now.”

“You know my brother used to really like you, right? Kind of sad, huh?”

“By the way, where did your husband-to-be go? Why are you alone?”

She had desperately hoped not to attract anyone’s attention, but Yu-ho’s friends approached her and began making meaningless small talk.

They did not seem to have any particular malicious intent, so she was about to brush them off with a few polite smiles when she spotted an unwelcome face in the distance.

Yu-ju was confident in her ability to control her expression.

But ever since Do-gyeong had appeared, she became helpless whenever he was around.

The moment her eyes met Do-gyeong’s, Yu-ju sprang abruptly to her feet and fled in a way that was obviously unnatural.

Yu-ho’s friends, who had been happily chatting with her, called after her in confusion, but she could not turn around.

Only after escaping onto a secluded walking path did Yu-ju finally stop.

But her peace lasted only a moment.

A large hand that had quietly followed her from behind suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Yu-ju breathed heavily and glared fiercely at Do-gyeong.

“You can’t just run away like that. Everyone’s going to think something strange.”

“Let go.”

“Are you trying to make people realize how suspicious our relationship is?”

“If you don’t let go, I’ll call my brother.”

Since Yu-ho hated being involved with Do-gyeong more than anyone, Yu-ju thought it was a good threat.

“Call him.”

But Do-gyeong did not even blink.

Yu-ju frowned.

“Are you drunk? Or have you lost your mind?”

“Either way, Jeong Yu-ho isn’t coming.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Whether I’m drunk or crazy, Jeong Yu-ho isn’t going to come here to rescue you.”

The more they talked, the less Yu-ju understood what Do-gyeong was saying.

But there was not even the slightest smell of alcohol on him.

His face looked perfectly normal as well.

In other words, he was holding her while completely sober.

“I saw the pictures. You looked beautiful.”

Just as Yu-ju had expected, Ha-jin must have shown Do-gyeong the pictures of her wearing the wedding dress.

“At first, I was angry because the wedding dress suited you even better than I imagined. But later, I started thinking about something else.”

Yu-ju looked down at the wrist he was still holding.

When Ha-jin had held her hand, she had felt uncomfortable.

But the hand holding hers now—Do-gyeong’s hand—felt surprisingly natural.

“Maybe you, you wicked thing, deliberately agreed to have those pictures taken. So that I could see them.”

He had hit the nail on the head.

“That made me feel better too.”

“You really seem to think the whole world revolves around you.”

The words came out sarcastically, fueled by a sudden surge of emotion.

But Yu-ju knew very well that such a reaction only made Do-gyeong’s theory seem true.

“I don’t know about the world, but I did hope that maybe your world revolved around me.”

“I don’t know how long I’m supposed to keep listening to your nonsense. We’re already over, and…”

“What I said that day was more than enough to be misunderstood. I admit it. I was in so much pain that I genuinely wasn’t in my right mind.”

“What misunderstanding?”

That he’d tried to stop the marriage of the woman he’d cruelly abandoned simply for amusement? Or because of possessiveness?

If that had all been a misunderstanding, Yu-ju wanted to hear it too.

She wanted to know what his true intentions had been.

Why he was going to such lengths to torment her.

But once again, the timing was wrong.

“Ah, wait. Not here…”

Just as Do-gyeong was about to say something, a sultry female voice rang out, and a heavily intoxicated man and woman appeared at the entrance to the path.

Do-gyeong pulled Yu-ju behind a large tree.

Their bodies were so close that their hearts seemed almost pressed together.

Someone’s heart began pounding wildly.

Yu-ju was about to tell him to move away when Do-gyeong’s large hand covered her mouth.

From Yu-ju’s frozen vantage point, she could not see the faces of the man and woman.

But Do-gyeong could.

It was the tiresome Ha-jin and Eun-gyo, a famous news anchor.

The same woman who had been entwined with Ha-jin like a snake at the club where the previous gathering had been held.

And Yu-ju still did not know Eun-gyo existed.

“I think there’s someone here.”

Do-gyeong’s eyes glared viciously at Ha-jin.

Eun-gyo looked around anxiously, and just as Ha-jin was about to speak, Do-gyeong covered Yu-ju’s ear with his hand.

As a result, Yu-ju could not hear a single word Ha-jin said.

Unable to understand this absurd situation, Yu-ju whispered at Do-gyeong in protest.

“What are you doing right—”

Then their eyes met at an extremely close distance.

Just like back when the relationship between them had been burning hot.

Even beneath the dark night sky, Do-gyeong was impossibly handsome.

His gaze as he looked down at her was so intense and sensual that she could not think about anything else.

“When you look at me like that, I can’t help myself, Yu-ju.”

Completely captivated by Do-gyeong, Yu-ju froze.

“So this is partly your fault too.”

Do-gyeong muttered something she could not understand, then suddenly lowered his head and kissed her lips with the familiarity of someone who had done it countless times before.

Before any other emotion could surface, longing came first.

At the warmth and breath she had never forgotten for nine years, Yu-ju’s toes tingled.

Only afterward did she realize that kissing him in this situation was wrong.

She desperately tried to steady herself and push him away.

But despite her efforts, her hands ultimately failed to push Do-gyeong away and simply fell limply to her sides.

So he found out like this that I still haven’t been able to escape from him.

How pathetic.

Their breaths mingled, tangled with longing and desire.

A short while later, Eun-gyo suggested that she and Ha-jin go somewhere else.

The two disappeared, leaving only Do-gyeong and Yu-ju behind.

Even though there was no longer any excuse for him to hold her, Do-gyeong did not let her go.

Instead, he pulled her even closer.

Then, only when a large tear suddenly fell onto her face did reason finally return to him.

Yu-ju was crying.

Do-gyeong carefully stepped away from her.

“I’m sorry.”

Yu-ju opened her palm as though she were about to slap him across the face.

Do-gyeong obediently turned his head to the side.

If that was what she wanted, he was willing to take as much punishment as she wished.

“Hit me.”

“……”

But no matter how long he waited, no stinging sensation came.

Perhaps it would have hurt less if she had simply struck him harshly.

But Yu-ju was too softhearted even for that.

You pretended you’d changed, but you’re still kind.

You can’t even punish the person who hurt you so badly, who made you so miserable.

A few minutes later, transparent tears also began falling pitifully from Do-gyeong’s eyes.

At first, even he did not realize he was crying.

He only noticed belatedly when Yu-ju’s trembling intensified and his own face became wet.

Crying was an unfamiliar act for him, something he rarely did.

But at that moment, he cried so hard that he did not even care about the shame of it.

“Why are you crying?”

Yu-ju asked in a trembling voice.

Her heart was pounding so hard that she felt dizzy.

After a moment, Do-gyeong gave a miserable answer.

“Because I have no shame.”

Yu-ju covered her tearful face with her palms.

Do-gyeong suffered because he could not even embrace her.

“I sometimes remember the movie reviews you used to write.”

A tear pooled at Do-gyeong’s chin before falling.

“You once wrote that marriage was simply a word used to describe love.”

Had she really once written such a romantic sentence?

From where she stood now, it was an innocent sentiment she could hardly imagine herself having.

But why did he still remember a pathetic little passage from one of those reviews?

Even the person who had written it had completely forgotten.

“You don’t love Prosecutor Ko. You know that marriage will only bring you unhappiness.”

Looking back, perhaps those reviews had been letters addressed to him.

Once he realized that their ultimate destination had not been her teacher but him, every sentence she had written had been a kind of love letter, written with him in mind.

“Unlike someone like me, you deserve to be happy, Yu-ju.”

I guess young Jeong Yu-ju wanted to marry him.

She must have wanted to describe her love for him with the word marriage.

Maybe that’s why she had subtly begged him.

‘When we become adults, let’s get married.’

“So please…”

Do-gyeong’s voice trembled.

“Please don’t get married.”

What happened next was enough to leave even Yu-ju utterly stunned.

Do-gyeong’s gaze gradually came to resemble Yu-ju’s own, and then it dropped lower than hers.

Yu-ju’s breathing quickened.

It was the first time in her life she had ever looked down at him like this.

It was such a shocking sight that her ears began ringing.

Do-gyeong was kneeling before Yu-ju.